State-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has invited a bid for 2,000 electric vehicle chargers for the second phase of its EV programme, which will see the rollout of 9,500 electric vehicles across different states.

“We have invited the bid for 2,000 electric vehicle chargers. We will need more chargers, of course, but we want to do it in phases,” Saurabh Kumar, managing director at EESL, told ET.

EESL, which is a joint venture of PSUs under the power ministry, had floated a global tender for 10,000 electric vehicles to replace the government fleet. The tender was split into two parts, where 500 vehicles were to be procured in phase one, while the remaining would be procured in the second phase.

The rollout of the first 500 cars has already begun in Delhi, and the second phase will see 9,500 electric cars being leased to government authorities on a pan-India basis.

While the previously announced tender for 4,000 electric chargers was scrapped by EESL, they floated a pilot tender of about a 100 chargers for the first phase and the results have been satisfactory, Kumar said, adding, “Now, we have tested these (chargers) and everything is in place. Therefore we now feel that these specifications can work on the ground.”

The rollout of the first lot of cars in Delhi-NCR was initially planned for November last year but was stymied because of the lack of charging infrastructure.

“We have put the learning from phase one to the next phase. This time the idea is to have the charging infrastructure in place before we roll out the cars,” Kumar said.

Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have come up most strongly with their interest in being apart of the EV programme, and EESL is already identifying locations where the charging infrastructure can be installed in these states, Kumar said. The tender process for the chargers is expected to be completed in about four to five weeks and the letters of the award will be given out by then.